> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://help.solink.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://help.solink.com/docs/protect-your-locations-with-alarms/professionally-monitored-video-alarms/professionally-monitored-video-alarms-how-it-works.md).
# Professionally Monitored Video Alarms: How it Works
The following visual provides a high-level overview of main steps and workflow for Solink’s **Professionally Monitored Video Alarms**:
***
## What Happens When an Alarm Triggers
When an alarm triggers, a **Verification Agent** reviews the video. What happens next depends on what the agent sees. The following table shows each scenario and what Alarm Contacts can expect:
| Scenario | What happens |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| [Active Break-In](#active-break-in) | Police are dispatched immediately. All Alarm Contacts get a text message, and a **Dispatch Agent** calls the Alarm Contacts. A contact who answers can cancel the dispatch. |
| [Potential Emergency](#potential-emergency) | All Alarm Contacts get a text message, and a **Dispatch Agent** calls the Alarm Contacts. Police are dispatched if no one responds or a contact confirms a threat. |
| [Unable to Load Video](#unable-to-load-video) | All Alarm Contacts get a text message. Police are not dispatched unless a contact replies "Yes" to the text within 5 minutes to ask for police to be sent. |
| [Inconclusive (Person Visible on Video)](#inconclusive-person-visible-on-video) | All Alarm Contacts get a text message. If the person should not be at the location, a contact can reply "Yes" to the text within 5 minutes to ask for police to be sent. |
| [No Contact Scenarios](#no-contact-scenarios) | The agent closes the alarm and does not contact anyone. Most alarms are false alarms and end here. |
| [Employee Detected Onsite (Auto-Disarm)](#employee-detected-onsite-auto-disarm) | The location disarms for a set time. All Alarm Contacts get a text message with options to re-arm the system or dispatch emergency services. |
## Active Break-In
A real or potential emergency occurs, on average, less than 1% of the time. In this scenario, the **Verification Agent** has confirmed that there is a threat to person or property:
If the **Verification Agent** determines there is an **active break in**, the dispatch agent:
1. Immediately contacts local emergency services to respond to the threat at the location.
2. Sends all Alarm Contacts an SMS text message to notify the Alarm Contacts of the dispatch.
3. Simultaneously, another **Dispatch Agent** calls the **Primary** **Alarm Contact.** If the Primary Alarm Contact does not answer, the Dispatch Agent calls other Alarm Contacts in the order they appear under **Solink Alarm Configuration**. See how Solink logs the [call event details here](/docs/protect-your-locations-with-alarms/alarm-setup/alarm-contacts.md#alarm-contact-calls-professionally-monitored-video-alarms).
4. If any Alarm Contacts answer they may cancel the dispatch, otherwise dispatch will continue.
The monitoring agent tells your Alarm Contacts about the dispatch by text message. To see the message, go to [Text Messages Sent to Alarm Contacts](#text-messages-sent-to-alarm-contacts).
## Potential Emergency
If the verification agent determines there is a **potential emergency**, such as an unknown person onsite, the dispatch agent will:
1. Send all **Alarm Contacts** an SMS text message to notify them of a potential emergency.
2. Call the **Primary** **Alarm Contact.** If the Primary Alarm Contact does not answer, the Dispatch Agent calls other Alarm Contacts in the order they appear under **Solink Alarm Configuration**. See how Solink logs the [call event details here](/docs/protect-your-locations-with-alarms/alarm-setup/alarm-contacts.md#alarm-contact-calls-professionally-monitored-video-alarms).
3. If there is no response from any Alarm Contacts, or a contact verifies an active break in, the dispatch agent will contact local emergency services to respond to the threat at the location.
The monitoring agent sends your Alarm Contacts a text message that says what the agent saw. To see each message, go to [Text Messages Sent to Alarm Contacts](#text-messages-sent-to-alarm-contacts).
## Unable to Load Video
On rare occasions, the **Verification Agent** is unable to load the video stream. This is often due to intermittent network issues or low bandwidth at the location. This issue usually occurs on one camera, so it does not necessarily mean the agent is completely ‘blind’ to motion on other alarm cameras.
**Note**: Solink requires at least **2 Mbps average upload speeds** for **Professionally Monitored Video Alarms**. Slower speeds result in the monitoring agent reaching out more frequently due to an inability to load video after three attempts.
The **Verification Agent** attempts to load the video three consecutive times and often is able to load within these attempts:
In the event the **Verification Agent** cannot load after three tries, a **Dispatch Agent** will immediately send all **Alarm Contacts** a SMS text message. At the discretion of the **Dispatch Agent**, they may also call to ensure people and property are safe, starting with the **Primary Alarm Contact**. To see the message, go to [Text Messages Sent to Alarm Contacts](#text-messages-sent-to-alarm-contacts).
If you receive this message frequently (e.g., one per night), please contact our Support team as there are likely changes we suggest to improve your connectivity.
## Inconclusive (Person Visible on Video)
On rare occasions, the **Verification Agent** is unable to conclusively determine whether someone or something poses a real threat. This footage often occurs on one camera. If there is a subsequent motion event, another agent reviews the footage and may be able to produce a more conclusive result from a different camera angle.
For example, an employee or delivery person who is not in uniform or fully visible within the camera would fall under this scenario.
In the event the Verification Agent cannot conclusively determine a threat, but a person is visible on the video, the agent sends all **Alarm Contacts** a text message. At the discretion of the **Dispatch Agent**, they may also call to ensure people and property are safe, starting with the **Primary Alarm Contact**. To see the message, go to [Text Messages Sent to Alarm Contacts](#text-messages-sent-to-alarm-contacts).
**Note:** After the monitoring agent has flagged the video as inconclusive, you can search for the video event (use the search bar on the **Alarms** tab and search for “Unverifiable (Unable to determine Conclusively)”.
## No Contact Scenarios
The agent does not reach out if the video is inconclusive in the following scenarios:
* Camera view obstructed or dark
* Video technical issue
* No person shown
* Emergency service personnel on site
* Person is outside of business, not acting suspiciously
* Person is inside of business, not acting suspiciously
* Moving vehicle
* Other
**Note**: Contact your Solink Customer Success representative to discuss options for changing outreach behaviour for no contact reasons.
## Employee Detected Onsite (Auto-Disarm)
When a monitoring agent reviews footage of an alarm and determines that the people onsite are employees, not suspicious individuals, the alarm is then disarmed until the next scheduled arm period, or for a certain period of time configured by your Customer Success representative.
All Alarm Contacts then receive a text message. To see what the message includes, go to [Text Messages Sent to Alarm Contacts](#text-messages-sent-to-alarm-contacts). To reduce these alarms, see [Employee Detection for Alarms: How to Fix](/docs/protect-your-locations-with-alarms/video-alarms-faqs-and-troubleshooting/employee-detection-for-alarms-how-to-fix.md).
## Text Messages Sent to Alarm Contacts
The monitoring agent sends a text message to all Alarm Contacts based on the scenario and the exact reason the agent selects. The following table shows each message:
| Scenario | Agent reason | Text message |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Active Break-In | Active break-in or burglary in progress | Solink has video verification of an alarm at Store 123 caused by an **active break-in**. Police will be dispatched unless we receive a ‘No’ reply to attempt cancelation. |
| Potential Emergency | Unknown person is inside business but not actively taking or damaging property | Solink has video verification of an alarm at Store 123 caused by **unknown person inside**. Police will be dispatched unless we receive a ‘No’ reply to attempt cancelation. |
| Potential Emergency | Unknown person is taking items from outside of business | Solink has video verification of an alarm at Store 123 caused by **person taking items from outside**. Police will be dispatched unless we receive a ‘No’ reply to attempt cancelation. |
| Potential Emergency | Unknown person is outside business but not actively taking or damaging property | Solink has video verification of an alarm at Store 123 caused by **unknown person outside**. Police will be dispatched unless we receive a ‘No’ reply to attempt cancelation. |
|
Unable to Load Video
Note: To reduce video loading issues and the text messages they cause, make sure the location has at least 2 Mbps average upload speed. Increase the upload bandwidth if needed.
| Video will not load after 3 attempts | Solink has detected motion at Store 123 but we could not review the video due to a video loading issue. We will not be dispatching police unless you respond "Yes" to this SMS within the next 5 minutes. View alarm here: (alarm link) |
| Inconclusive (Person Visible on Video) | Unable to determine person activity | Solink has detected an unverifiable person at Store 123. An agent has reviewed the video but is unsure if the person shown is allowed at this location. Please review and respond YES within 5 mins if you'd like police dispatched. View alarm: (alarm link) |
|
Employee Detected Onsite (Auto-Disarm)
Note: To reduce employee detections, set an alarm schedule that matches when employees are onsite, so the alarm is not armed while they work. See Employee Detection for Alarms: How to Fix.
| Employees detected onsite | The message includes the number of times employees were detected onsite over a period of time, a notice that the site is disarmed and for how long, a link to review the video of the alarm(s), and options to re-arm the system or dispatch emergency services by text. |
**Note**: All text messages display in French if this is the language preference selected for the Alarm Contact. Location must be in Canada.
## Related Articles
To learn more about Professionally Monitored Video Alarms, see these articles:
* [Professionally Monitored Video Alarms: Overview](/docs/protect-your-locations-with-alarms/professionally-monitored-video-alarms/professionally-monitored-video-alarms-overview.md)
* [Alarm Events with Video Verification](/docs/protect-your-locations-with-alarms/professionally-monitored-video-alarms/alarm-events-with-video-verification.md)
* [Alarm Contacts](/docs/protect-your-locations-with-alarms/alarm-setup/alarm-contacts.md)
* [Employee Detection for Alarms: How to Fix](/docs/protect-your-locations-with-alarms/video-alarms-faqs-and-troubleshooting/employee-detection-for-alarms-how-to-fix.md) (Auto-Disarm text messages)
* [Arm and Disarm Alarms](/docs/protect-your-locations-with-alarms/use-and-configure-alarms/arm-and-disarm-alarms.md)
* [Outdoor Alarms Monitoring](/docs/protect-your-locations-with-alarms/outdoor-alarms-monitoring.md)
* [Alarm FAQs](/docs/protect-your-locations-with-alarms/video-alarms-faqs-and-troubleshooting/alarm-faqs.md)
---
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